Regulatory Update
New Jersey Adopts GIS-Compatible Format Requirement
Environmentally hazardous areas must be formatted as CAD files
By Kevin P. Corbley

In a move that likely signals the beginning of a trend at both the federal and state levels, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) now requires certain types of environmental impact information to be submitted in digital GIS-compatible formats.
    NJDEP worked closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2 in drafting the new regulations, leading many experts to believe similar rules may not be far away for federal Superfund projects.
    For now the New Jersey regulations apply only to organizations formally involved in the state's Site Remediation Program. According to the new rules, details regarding the locations and extent of Classification Exception Areas (CEAs) and Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) must be formatted as maps in CAD files referenced to the NAD83 coordinate system.
    In addition, the regulations mandate that data related to soil and ground water samples must be submitted with precise geographic coordinates attached so the state can pinpoint exactly where they were collected. The state says it will soon also require areas under Declarations of Environmental Restoration to have their above and below ground boundaries mapped digitally.
    "New Jersey is probably a little bit ahead of the technology curve today, but the shift to GIS-based data sharing is a natural and inevitable step," said Mark Bucknam, Director of GZA Information Systems Division of Manchester, N.H., a developer of Internet-based environmental software. GZA has already released a software module which allows customers to export data directly into the required New Jersey format.
    Environmental industry veterans agree that most bigger firms involved in clean-up are already using CAD or GIS software, which means they will have little trouble abiding by the new regulations. The smaller firms that don't have GIS or GPS equipment, however, may feel the pinch and have difficulty bidding on new projects.
    According to GZA's GIS Manager, Matthew Sanfilippo, the change will ultimately benefit environmental organizations and the NJDEP. "As these companies enhance and automate their data management processes in order to comply with these regulations, they will also quickly discover many ways to use the same technologies and information management capabilities to pursue their own strategic objectives."
    NJDEP is anxious to have the data in digital formats so they can input the files into their own GIS to perform analysis. "We want to [analyze] how the clean-up of soil and ground water is progressing," said John De Fina, a Supervising Environmental Specialist with the NJ Site Remediation Program.
    U.S. EPA also is said to be looking forward to using GIS processing to present its clean-up strategies in graphical ways that are easier for the public to understand.

About the Author:
Kevin Corbley is a freelance writer and consultant specializing in remote sensing, GIS, GPS and digital mapping. He is located in Denver, Colorado, and may be reached at 303-722-0312 or by email at [email protected]

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